


Ballerina

by Booboodaddyh



Series: The Dahlia [1]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Abby teaches ballet, Alternate Universe - Ballet Academy, F/M, Fluff, Inspired by Music, Marcus plays the piano, One Shot, and abby notices but she pretends she hasn't, and slowly falling, ballerina!Abby, marcus is like a teenager in love, marcus' daughter being number one kabby shipper, musician!Marcus, not really slowly for marcus he litteraly sees her and falls but huh too bad, oh so much fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:29:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27461233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Booboodaddyh/pseuds/Booboodaddyh
Summary: Marcus Kane is a musician, and he plays piano for a ballet school as a part-time job.Abigail Griffin is a ballet teacher, and she teaches ballet to little girls in the same school where Marcus works. And Marcus happens to fall in love with her to the point that he writes her a song.
Relationships: Abby Griffin & Marcus Kane, Abby Griffin/Marcus Kane
Series: The Dahlia [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2069784
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	Ballerina

_Brown eyed ballerina_ _  
_ _God only knows how much I need ya_ _  
_ _From day one I knew you were the one_

Marcus wasn’t much of a worker. He liked doing things when he felt like doing them, but he quickly found out that wasn’t the proper way to make money. He had many talents, and some of them were pretty unusual, but out of all things, Marcus was a musician. He’d started learning piano at a young age, then shifted to guitar, he thought it suited his writing style the best, and he started composing his own music. He mainly played in bars and cafeterias sometimes, but what can you earn from occasional concerts?

That was when he decided to search for a job that could suit his passion for music. It had been much of a quest, but after a few auditions, and many restless nights learning incredibly difficult classical pieces, he finally got a spot as a piano player in the Arkadia’s Classical Ballet Dancing Academy. He wasn’t really hyped about it, not before he started actually working there.

He entered the training room thinking it was empty, and sat at the piano, checking if it was in tune, and then he started playing. It was a piece from the swan lake, a particularly relaxing one he’d found out it was a great exercise to warm up. He soon got into the music, forgetting everything around him. It was only when he saw a pink figure in the corner of his eye that he realized he wasn’t alone. He turned his head while still playing, to catch who was the person who was using his music before any lessons started. And that was when he finally saw her. The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his entire life. She had sparkly golden eyes that shined in the daylight, the ends of her tight ponytail caressed her back as she danced through the room, she looked extremely beautiful.

He realized he stopped playing only when she walked towards him. “Sorry, I should’ve warned you before I started casually dancing there” she laughed, and in years of music, Marcus had never heard a sound he liked more. Marcus took a second to collect his thoughts, then he stood up and gave her a hand. “That’s okay, really, you’re amazing, by the way. I’m Marcus, I huh- I just started working here and I was practicing” the woman steadily shook his hand, some sort of a smile forming on those beautiful lips. “I’m Abby, I teach to the little girls, teens ten to twelve and sixteens.”

Marcus shot a glance at the woman. He looked cold from the outside, but he was melting on the inside. He looked one more time into those golden-brown eyes, and he knew she was different.

_Give me your hand and I'll give you mine_ _  
_ _You're the reason I look forward to coming home at night_

In this whole life, the man hadn’t enjoyed anything as much as he loved working at the ballet academy. In the first place, he loved seeing little girls learning from the very beginning, but he also enjoyed watching the older ones rehearsing, as they moved perfectly in synchrony. He’d even managed to convince Abby to use one of his songs for a duet, which made his job there even more enjoyable. But he needed to admit that Abby herself was making his experience the best possible.

She made sure every lesson was light even when he needed to play for many hours, and oh she was a talented ballerina. Marcus could spend hours watching her spin through the room, and even after they finished their work, they stayed in the training room until late and they had fun with each other.

“I loved the way you played your song today, you added something that made it really, how can I say this, amazing” they’d just finished a long dancing session, it was really late and Marcus felt bone-tired but happier than ever. That was Abby’s effect on him, she made him play until his fingers bleed, but he enjoyed the sweet pain if it was for her. He stood up from the piano and stretched, feeling sore, and finally, he could look at Abby face to face. Not exactly, because she was shorter than Marcus by a lot, but he liked looking in those magnificent brown eyes.

“I just added some bass percussion, but I think it gave the right rhythm to the duet. Today Clarke and Bellamy were on fire!” he was proud of the results the guys were developing during Abby’s lesson, she was an amazing teacher, and she was equal to all students, even if Clarke was Abby’s daughter.  
”You know, ‘perfect harmony’, the song for the duet, was composed by my son, and the lyrics written by my daughter, so it’s not technically _my_ song” he chuckled, and Abby, that in the meanwhile was patting the sweat from her shoulder with a towel, turned around.

“You have a son and a daughter?” she asked with surprise. That was when Marcus remembered he’d never talked about his personal life with Abby beside his music.  
”I, huh, yea, Alexander and Isabelle, seventeen and sixteen. Alex studies music and he’s an amazing composer, Isabelle isn’t much interested in playing or singing, but she writes amazing poetry that turned out to suit his music, and that’s how Perfect Harmony was born. She’s actually a little jealous of Clarke and Bellamy dancing to it because she wants to start doing ballet too” he grabbed his water bottle and his bag, then he started collecting his sheets, mostly to not look at the woman’s perfect body.

Abby, in the meantime, pulled off her high ponytail, and a cascade of golden locks fell on her shoulders. As soon as Marcus raised his head, his mouth almost fell on the floor. She looked like a goddess, magnificent and shining under the moon’s light.  
”You should bring her with you next time. If she has some time we can immediately add her to our class, and maybe I’ll give her the duet with Bellamy” her words shook the man back to reality, who couldn’t stop staring at her. He just nodded and smiled to himself as he collected the last pieces of paper and his phone. He was about to go out when she reached for him and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you for your time, you’re amazing. See you next time” then Abby surpassed him and disappeared down the hallway. The man smiled again, not more than a small one, but indeed a smile. And he was happy to come home.

_What's the point of sleep if it's not with you_ _  
_ _Your lipstick on my cheek looking like a tattoo_ _  
_ _My ballerina swinging side to side_ _  
_ _All I need is a little love and care tonight_

Ever since that evening, Marcus hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Abby. He wasn’t the romantic type, but he wasn’t even indifferent to her attentions. There was a time where he’d been the coldest of the men, but ever since he became a father, he’d become a giant softie. He was authoritarian, but not bossy, he was a fair dad and his children liked him. They’d learned to understand him and the way he acted, and they were a happy family.

But even they were surprised when their father came home one night and told them he was gonna write Abby a song.  
”A song? You barely know her” pointed out Alex, looking from his homework with an eyebrow raised. Not only his dad had never written a song about anyone, but he’d also never written a song about a woman. As long as he knew, Marcus hadn’t dated anyone since his mom, so he was definitely surprised.  
On the contrary, his sister was hyped about it.

"A song? About Abby? Uhhh, daddy's in loove!" she said as she poked him between the ribs, earning an annoyed look from her dad. "But I don't blame you, Ms. Griffin is amazing! Today she said I can do the dance of the little swans with Octavia, Raven, and Nylah at the final show!" Marcus was happy Isabelle was enjoying her experience at the Ballet Academy, because he was too, he was enjoying it so much.

He was now used to spend hours thinking about that woman. He'd learned every little detail about her, from the way she swung around on her pointe shoes, her little skirt flattering like a flower in the wind, to the shade of lipstick she began to wear recently. But Abby was full of surprises, that was what Marcus was mostly in love with; she wasn't much affectionate either, or at least that was what Marcus thought of her, but sometimes she liked to surprise him with some kind of contact, which could variate from bringing him coffee or cookies she baked ("just for you, cause you said you liked chocolate pecan cookies"), or even a little kiss on his cheek, when he stayed so late just so she could rehearse her ballet moves. And every time she kissed his cheek, Marcus would come home proud of having _her_ lipstick on his face, and spend his nights thinking about it.

The truth was that he felt like a teenager with his first crush, and in fact, it wasn't far from what he was. When he met Callie, Alex and Isabelle's mom, he had been really young, and in love. Later, Callie got pregnant, and they decided to postpone their wedding until she finally gave birth to their first kid. But only a few weeks after Alex's birth, she was pregnant again. Isabelle was their little angel, but she wasn't an easy kid, and in the end, they never got married. Callie got sick when Alex was about three years old and died not long after.

Since then, Marcus never dated. He wanted to be a good dad and at first, he thought he wasn't suited for the role, but he couldn't leave his kids alone, he didn't want to, they deserved a dad that could make them feel loved, happy, and cared for. That was when Marcus rediscovered music and his passion for writing. He could simply write and play about what stressed him, and relieve it that way. And now that his music made him meet that amazing woman, everything he wished was for her to enter his life and fix him. He knew she could.

_God is an artist, he put you on display_  
_A masterpiece of motion, more beautiful everyday_  
_Give me your love and I'll give you mine_  
_You're the reason I tеll my friends I'm busy tonight_

When Marcus entered the rehearsing room, he got ran over by tons of colors and fabric rolls. The final show was two months away and everyone was already freaking out. Choreographies to fix and perfect before the big event, and especially, costume fittings. That probably explained the mess around. As usual, Marcus searched for Abby's brunette head, and he heard some muffled music far from the place he was standing.

He stayed silent and walked towards the sound until he finally discovered her. She was dancing in the little space that wasn't occupied by costumes, next to the big windows that gave light to the whole room. She was wearing one of the costumes, a baby blue leotard, and a flowy long skirt on it. As usual, she had her tight ponytail, but it was lower and the strands of hair sat lightly on her shoulders, moving as she spun on her baby blue pointe shoes.

She looked like a vision, unreal, a dream. The daylight made the satin fabric shine like a thousand stars, and as she danced, the skirt moved like a warm summer breeze. She was the sky, the wind, and the sea, and yet she was the fire. She was so focused on her dancing she didn't notice Marcus' presence, but he was aware it was usual for her to forget about the world around when she danced. Abby was extremely strict with herself: with her pupils, she was so sweet and patient exactly because she never was with her own self.

As soon as the music faded, Marcus walked away from his little corner, to not scare her, or to not make her figure out he had been watching her the whole time. "You're magnificent" he finally said, and she turned around, still looking surprised even if he tried his best to appear as he'd just came in. But she really was magnificent, a true goddess.

"Oh hey, I didn't hear you coming in, there's so much stuff around" she groaned, then pulled off her skirt and reached for the usual little skirt she tied around her waist. Marcus really wanted to say he didn't glance for a second at her body, but he in fact did, and it was more than a glance, she was dangerously beautiful. She had a slim figure and looked rather tiny, but she had defined curves and long legs. She was perfect, that was it.

"I can't stand the idea of having to spend my whole evening here categorizing the costumes and packing it for each girl" she spoke again, and Marcus realized he hadn't answered her earlier sentence. It wasn't really a question in the end, but he could've said something and instead decided to just stare at her like some kind of creep. He shook out of his trance and placed his bag on the piano, then he grabbed one of the bags containing the costumes and watched what was inside, as he was pondering a choice he had in reality already made.

"Don't worry about it, I'll grab coffee for us after the lessons and I'll stay with you to help you." Every person that had interacted with Marcus even just once in their life knew for sure he wasn't much of a help when it came to cleaning or ordering a room. He didn't like doing chores, and that was about it. He surprised even himself with the decision to help her but at that point, three months since he'd started working at the Ballet Academy and since he met Abby, he was willing to do anything to just spend more time with her.  
"You would do that? You're amazing, thank you Marcus!" to his very surprise, she immediately filled the space within them and hugged the man, even standing on her pointe shoes to reach his height. He took a second to hug her back, just in surprise. "No problem, anytime" he said as an answer and smacked himself mentally. He really would do anything for her, but he felt embarrassed to admit it.

They parted away, and the moment later, his phone rang. "Give me a second, can you start warming up without me?" Abby just nodded, then motioned to him to go doing anything he needed to.

"Hello?" Marcus answered without checking who that was and immediately regretted it. "Marcus! It's been a hot second since we heard about you, old bear!" he wasn't expecting to hear Sinclair's voice this early in the morning, or in the whole month actually, but there he was. Jacapo Sinclair was the man that forced Marcus to have a social life. He didn't hate it, but definitely not fully enjoy it. He sighed, trying to not sound so defeated as he in reality was.

"Oh, hey Sinclair, what's up?" he answered with some kind of cheery tone, but it really wasn't. "Listen here, tonight the boys and I are going downtown for a beer. Charles Pike is coming, Jackson is coming and even Thelonius will join us later, so you're forced to come." Marcus bit in a laugh. It was going to be hard to tell him he wasn't coming, but mostly, it was gonna surprise them all so much. "I, huh, I am already busy tonight, I'm helping a person doing a thing..."

Sinclair didn't even let him finish, he just straight up jumped to conclusions. "Suspicious, so it's a woman. Marcus Kane is ditching us all for a woman. Woah." he sounded so offended, but before Marcus could say anything, he spoke again. "If it were someone else I would've been mad as hell, but since you didn't date anyone in like, years, it's gonna pass for this time. But if next time you try to ditch our beer dates, you're not only coming but you're bringing her with you. Have fun, and use a condom!" and with that, the phone call ended.

Marcus, the firm Marcus Kane, blushed furiously. And of course, Abby noticed, because karma was always there to remind him how much of an idiot he was. "Hey, are you okay? You look flushed" He took a deep breath, then smiled at the woman, who was passing right next to him to go to class. "Sure thing, I'm doing amazing, let's go" he smiled at her, then started walking towards the class.

_The world is your stage wherever you go_  
_You know I'll always be right in the front row_  
_Your love is a movie, my favorite show_  
_You're my silver screen queen_  
_My Marilyn Monroe_

"Okay, places, one more time."

Last few days before the show. Isabelle was freaking out, and Alex wasn't enjoying it, but nothing was comparable to how stressed Marcus was. He worked even twelve hours per day, playing countless pieces thousand of times to the point he started hating every single one of them. He sure enjoyed playing the piano, and the paycheck made all the effort worth it, but he felt exhausted, consumed to the bone, and his head felt dizzy.

"Hmm, what if you give these girls a little rest? They've been trying this part for two hours now and I could use a small break too..." Marcus tried, and Abby looked defeated. She was the most nervous of them all, she wanted the show to be perfect at all costs, to the point she sounded a little creepy every time she spoke a word about it. But apparently, Marcus' gentle concern made her a dab sweeter, and she just nodded. "Fifteen minutes break, then come back in places and we'll try it again"

Marcus stood up from the piano, then reached for Abby and gently squeezed her in a hug, trying to reassure her. She was a talented dancer indeed, and the way she taught her knowledge to other people was fascinating. She was sharp, precise, and amazing at doing it. But even if she had a hard shell outside, she was still the tender woman he knew. She leaned into his embrace, sighing heavily. "I'm sorry, you must be tired, I'm so nervous about this show. You know about my solo, don't you? It's because we're gonna have some important guests from the Ballet Academy of TonDc, and it's a really prestigious one, and if they like our show they will sponsor our Academy too. It's a huge helping hand"

Marcus tried to bite in a gasp. He had no idea about her concerns, and it made him feel miserable that he didn't ask her about it. He pulled away from the hug and sat again at the piano, then took the music sheet to her solo. She was gonna perform the Black Swan from Swan Lake, and Marcus personally hadn't played it yet for her. He shot a glance at Abby, that looked confused, then he started playing. "Let's try it, okay? You can do this, you'll nail it" he kept playing, repeating the intro so that she could join him.

Abby sighed, then her expression changed drastically to a professional one. She started dancing to the tune, with grace and elegance Marcus felt blessed to have the privilege to witness. Breathtaking. In years, Marcus had never seen anything so spectacular. There weren't words to describe the beauty of Abby Griffin as she swung through the stage. Her steps were so precise and calibrated she seemed to be moved by the air itself, carried by the breeze as light as, well, a swan. He took his sweet time to admire her, while he played the melody by heart; he didn’t have the courage to look away from the sweet sight of the Ballerina. His brown-eyed ballerina.

As the music faded, Marcus studied the way she pirouetted until she posed, finishing her solo. She was elegant, graceful, so beautiful, but she had a flirty smile on her lips and bold eyes. The whole solo had been the representation of Abby's eternal inner conflict. The thin line between her stunning finesse and her bold sensuality. He couldn't wait to see her dancing in the full costume. Ever since he'd witnessed the black tutu she showed him that night he helped her cleaning, he'd wished to see her perform more than he wanted to admit. And he fell in love with her more and more as time passed.

"So, how was it?" For once, Marcus was focused on planet earth, and he wasn't daydreaming like he was used to when Abby was around. "You owned the stage. It's perfect, really, you couldn't have been more beautiful" the man was totally sincere, but in the end, it was his opinion, which wasn't exactly the TonDc Ballet Academy's Chief's one. Abby probably thought the same, since she chuckled and grabbed her little light blue hydro flask. "Well, if you were a ballet master I'm sure that would reassure me, but I appreciate everything you do for me"

But Marcus was so in love with that impromptu performance he didn't want to lose that argument. "No, really, believe me. It was like watching a movie, you were queen of the whole stage, You were beautiful, you were flirty, believe me, there's nothing you can do to improve this performance. You were like the Marylin Monroe of Ballet" he was now standing, and as he spoke he grabbed her shoulders and looked right into her eyes. He didn't look intimidating, just really passionate about what he was saying. And he could swear he saw Abby blushing.

"Okay okay, I believe you." she bit her lower lip, and Marcus tried his best not to melt instantly.

An awkward silence filled the short distance between them. Neither of them had the courage to say anything, they just stood there until enough time had passed and Abby cleared her voice, breaking the contact between them.

"Okay girls enough of a break! Places, we’re doing it all over again! Isabelle, do you know Lexa’s part?” Marcus’ daughter stood up and nodded energetically, then took Lexa’s place in front of all the other girls. Abby looked at Marcus, that sat again at the piano and waited for her to give him a signal.

“And five, six, seven, eight...”

The little girls started their choreography, but Marcus stared the whole time at his beautiful woman. His woman.

_“What's the point of sleep if it's not with you_ _  
_ _Your lipstick on my cheek looking like a tattoo_ _  
_ _My ballerina swinging side to side_ _  
_ _All I need is a little love and care tonight_ _  
_ _Brown eyed ballerina_ _  
_ _God only knows how much I need ya_ _  
_ _From day one I knew you were the one”_

“What was that?” Marcus didn’t realize Abby heard him playing, but he wasn’t mad. The last lesson before the final show just finished, and Marcus, for the first time, brought his guitar to his workplace. And that was the song. The song he wrote for Abby, his beautiful ballerina.

“Oh, just a song that I wrote” Marcus replied, very much interested in her reaction. She looked stunned, but not in a bad way. She was smiling, two strands of hair framing her face, the evening light making her the golden shiny goddess she was. That was what he wrote about.

“A song, a song you wrote?” She asked again, very much unsure, but still smiley. And that look, her usual sharp and flirty look, that made Marcus feel like a teenager again. He nodded, not trying to hide his feelings.

“It’s called Ballerina, did you like it?” this time, she didn’t hide her surprise. Her cheeks reddened, and she brushed away the hair from her eyes, just to look at him again.

“I loved it. Mind playing it again?” Abby sat on the floor, eyes locked in Marcus’ ones, who started playing without even thinking. His raspy voice filled the room, and a slight echo gave a dreamy note to the scene. They smiled at each other, and time felt frozen. 

Abby looked at Marcus in a way the man never thought he could be looked at. Not by her, at least. The firm, flirty, and passionate Abigail was now replaced by a different person. It could be seen in every single detail, from the way she leaned so sure and confident next to the man, to the physical contact. Her hand brushed on his knee when she sat, but it didn't feel awkward at all, it felt natural, oh so natural, like they were used to do it every day. But where was the lie?

During that time, they'd learned to know each other. Abby learned that Marcus liked jazz music and Italian food, and Marcus learned that Abby had started doing ballet when she was five. But out of all things, they'd learned to read each other. Marcus knew when Abby was sad or nervous, he could almost feel it, and when it happened, he brought her coffee and pastries and they sat and talked until she felt light again. And Abby had learned that Marcus didn't like to talk about his past, but he loved talking about the future. The man had many dreams, and when he playfully included Abby in those dreams, she blushed furiously. But she didn't know he wasn't joking for a single second.

And now, as they stared one in the other's eyes, they realized. They realized what they'd been cultivating in those months, all the effort, the time spent learning and making and building, was because they wanted the other to stay. As much as broken both of them were, they fixed every crack with that strong bond they created. None of them wanted to use that word, but whoever looked at the two, knew it was love.

From a distance, Isabelle leaned on her brother’s shoulder.  
”He’s happy” she whispered, sighing happily. Alex shot a glance at her sister, and then again at his dad. He nodded. “He is. Let’s give them their privacy, shall we? He deserves it.”

They silently agreed, and walked away, leaving their dad to his little love bubble. And it felt right, oh so right.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone and thanks for reading!  
> The song used to write this one-shot is Ballerina by Jeremy Shada, and I highly suggest listening to it while reading, it gives the right mood!  
> Thank you to whoever read this whole thing until the end, I enjoyed writing it so much, and reviews or comments are always super appreciated<3  
> Lots of Love to the kabby family!


End file.
